Grants Made

Since 2002, the Blue Mountain Health System (BMHS) Mammography & Diagnostic Ultrasounds Program has provided free mammograms to uninsured women in Carbon County. BMHS will use Foundation funds to expand this screening program to include an additional 95 un/underinsured women in the coming year. Qualified women will be identified and referred to the program by local physicians. Any women identified as needing follow-up intervention will be treated by BMHS regardless of ability to pay.

Stretch n’ Grow is a national, research-based curriculum designed to address childhood obesity in pre-K children through physical movement, healthy nutrition choices, and lessons on safety and hygiene. With Foundation funding, Infant Development Program will have a certified Stretch n’ Grow instructor visit nine pre-school classrooms in Clinton County, identified as serving at-risk children, every week for 35 weeks. No less than 130 youngsters ages 3 to 5 will be reached, and take-home materials will be shared with their parents/caregivers.

The LCCC Dental Clinic operates 4 days a week, 30 weeks a year to provide dental screenings, evaluations, and education for a diverse population of patients. As a student teaching center, services are provided by student clinicians in tandem with volunteer licensed and certified professionals. In 2010-2011, the Clinic served more than 830 uninsured children and adults, including the elderly and special needs individuals. The Clinic anticipates an increase in the number of uninsured patients seeking services in the future. LCCC will use Foundation funds to purchase commonly needed dental supplies to serve no less than 520 new uninsured patients.

Through the Circle of Care program, Maternal and Family Health Services (MFHS) promotes healthy birth outcomes by providing comprehensive prenatal care to un/underinsured pregnant women in Lackawanna County. More than 80% of these women are considered high-risk maternity clients. MFHS will use Foundation funding to provide prenatal case management services to 200 high-risk un/underinsured patients in the coming year, ensuring each woman receives an individual needs assessment with referrals, outreach and follow-up as necessary.

North Penn Comprehensive Health Services’ Diabetes Care Management Project is designed to increase compliance with recommended testing, improve diabetes self-management and minimize diabetes-related health effects among Tioga County’s un/underinsured. Foundation funds will help purchase A1C test kits to support regular care for 400 current or yet-to-be diagnosed un/underinsured patients. Participants will also meet with North Penn’s Certified Diabetes Educator to learn more about behavior modifications such as healthy eating, being active, and reducing risks to better manage their diabetes.

Pocono Services for Families and Children (PSFC), the leading Head Start childcare provider in Monroe County, will use Foundation funds to deliver health literacy training to 104 Head Start families at four locations across the county in the coming year. Created by UCLA and Johnson & Johnson, the training program covers topics such as At-Home Treatment of Common Childhood Illnesses, Reading Prescription Labels, Oral Health, Obesity Prevention, Asthma, and Health Promotion. Nationwide data shows that once trained, families experience a marked decrease in emergency room and clinic visits, as well as the number of school days and work days missed.

Approximately 64% of the patients seen each year at Scranton Primary Health Care Center are un/underinsured. These individuals often do not receive recommended immunizations because of the cost, leaving this population at a higher risk for preventable diseases. The Center will use Foundation funding to purchase nearly 500 doses of vaccine to immunize 190 prenatal patients against influenza, and offer influenza, pneumonia, diphtheria, tetanus and/or whooping cough vaccinations to an additional 210 un/underinsured adults in the coming year.

The Susquehanna Community Health and Dental Clinic provides medical services for any resident of Lycoming County, including more than 3,500 low-income and un/underinsured children and adults. The Clinic’s uninsured patients often forgo recommended immunizations, leaving this population at a higher risk for preventable diseases. The Clinic will use Foundation funding to purchase 261 doses of vaccine to immunize more than 200 un/underinsured patients against influenza, pneumonia, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough in the coming year.

In 2007, the University of Scranton opened the Edward R. Leahy Center Clinic to serve uninsured residents of Lackawanna County with free primary health care services. The Leahy Center Clinic will use Foundation funding to increase its available inventory of single course treatments for acute episodic conditions, preventive treatments, lab supplies and disposable medical supplies to serve an estimated 1,000 new un/underinsured individuals in the coming year. In addition, the Clinic will use some Foundation funds to expand the on-site hours of a pharmacist to educate patients on the proper use of prescribed medications.

Valley Prevention Services (VPS) will use Foundation funds to offer “Too Good For Drugs,” an evidence-based prevention education program, to 175 first and fifth grade students in Lycoming County this fall. The 10 lesson curriculum focuses on developing skills to resist peer pressures, goal setting, decision-making, managing emotions, effective communication, and social interactions. The program also provides information about the negative consequences of drug use and the benefits of a nonviolent, drug-free lifestyle.

CATCH, which stands for “Coordinated Approach To Child Health,” is an anti-obesity curriculum for youngsters that has been adopted by YMCA’s across the U.S. with great results. The Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA will use Foundation funds to offer the curriculum during its after school program to 35 low-income, physically at-risk children, grades K through 6, ensuring that each child participates in at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity and weekly nutrition education sessions for 35 weeks.

Foundation funding will help provide more than 230 hours of shelter advocate services to 200 at-risk women served by Women’s Resource Center in Scranton in the coming year. The advocate will meet with each woman to help them prepare a safety plan for themselves and any children in their care, and will also evaluate the need to match the family with other agencies for ongoing health and support services.